Planning with Agenda Fusion Jeff Kirvin has written a great How-To column that explains how he uses Agenda Fusion. This is an excellent article for you to read if you are trying to figure out how to be more productive by using your Pocket PC.
posted by Frank McPherson 12:21 PM |
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Rogers AT&T Wireless has successfully tested an integration technology that delivers Wi-Fi service through GSM/GPRS.
posted by Frank McPherson 12:15 PM |
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I read alot of web sites on my Pocket PC so I really appreciate sites that display nicely on the smaller screen. So far I think that Arne Hess' site is one of the nicest looking sites on a Pocket PC.
posted by Frank McPherson 12:14 PM |
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This picture pretty much confirms that the Toshiba 2032 is simply a re-badged Audiovox Thera.
posted by Frank McPherson 7:25 PM |
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ActiveSync iPaq using Bluetooth This looks like a great How-To guide for setting up Bluetooth for synchronization between an iPAQ and desktop/notebook PC using the 3COM USB adapter. I've been using this exact same configuration for over a month now and it is rock solid for me when syncing my iPAQ 3870 and my Toshiba E740 using the Socket Bluetooth card.
posted by Frank McPherson 1:37 PM |
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PDA Buyer's Guide Reviews: T-Mobile Pocket PC Phone Edition Here is another Pocket PC Phone Edition review. I guess I need to retract something I wrote earlier here. Aparently the device is dual-band, supporting the 1900 Mhz US and 900 Mhz European bands. Information that I obtained from Microsoft several months ago said that it was a single band device. In this case, I am glad that I am wrong.
posted by Frank McPherson 12:06 PM |
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Sprint Media Relations : News Releases Here is the official press release regarding Sprint's "3G" service. So, how can you use this new service with a Pocket PC?
The Toshiba news is fresh from Pocket PC Thoughts, and IMHO is a bit of good news and bad news. The good news is that Toshiba is continuing to pump out Pocket PC products showing probably the strongest commitment to the platform of any of the OEMs. But the the $799 price and the fact it is probably not a Pocket PC Phone Edition is bad news. That price is simply too high, and there is no justification for it.
Funny, just yesterday I was thinking that a PPC Phone Edition based on the E740 and it's built-in WiFI would truly be the ultimate device. Imagine a PPC Phone with built-in wireless voice, and data, built-in 802.11b, and two slots! You could throw in a Bluetooth card have every wireless mode of communication covered. It would truly be the uber wireless device.
posted by Frank McPherson 3:04 PM |
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Wireless Web Browser for Mobile Web For some reason the Thunderhawk browser refuses to install on my Toshiba E740. It keeps telling me that the LCD is not appropriate and cancels the installation.
posted by Frank McPherson 12:45 PM |
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As I expected, Alan Reiter has some good recommendations for cutting through Sprint PCS' hype regarding it's 3G announcements. He has already seen an ad for the service and the ad generates more questions than answers.
posted by Frank McPherson 2:36 PM |
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PCWorld.com - Asustek Finally Launches Its Own Pocket PC Yet another Asian company announcing a Pocket PC that isn't in the market in the United States.
posted by Frank McPherson 10:47 AM |
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infoSync : GSM and GPRS in CompactFlash format If you own an existing Pocket PC and you want the same voice and data capabilities with it as is available with PPC Phone Edition, you have several different options. One will be Audiovox's RTM8000 card that has a tri-band GSM 900/1800/1900 radio and supports GPRS. I am a bit concerned about Infosync's description of the card as "CompactFlash Type I extended" and I have posted a question on their talkback asking for clarification. The only Pocket PC's that I know of that have Type Ie slots are the Jornada 565/568. Perhaps a Ie card will work in a CF Type II slot, but I don't know for sure.
posted by Frank McPherson 10:44 AM |
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Part Pocket PC, part cellular phone Gary Krakow has been covering Pocket PCs for several years, and is well aware of Microsoft's overall strategy for their software and mobile voice and data. He puts PPC Phone Edition in that context at the beginning of his review, and I believe his review is probably the most balanced and most fair of the ones that I have read.
BTW, Gary's point about PPC Phone Edition's VPN support is very well taken. From what I see, businesses have been waiting to see PPC Phone Edition more than anything else. However, I suspect that those same businesses are going to be hesitant about switching to Voicestream as a provider. This is another reason why the AT&T Wireless announcement is important, as will be a a CDMA/1XRTT version of PPC Phone Edition.
posted by Frank McPherson 10:32 AM |
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IP: THE PDA PHONE DILEMMA I came across this article/email by way of Alan Reiter's weblog, and found it to be an excellent follow-up to what I wrote yesterday about Pocket PC Phone Edition. The author is Geoff Goodfellow, who basically invented wireless email in the early '80s. The article doesn't mention Pocket PC Phone Edition, but it makes some very good recommendations in deciding what device to buy. If you are in the United States your choice should be influenced by the network rather than the phone.
You can also see in this article another of what I think is Microsoft's flaws with the first release of PPC Phone Edition in the United States. The flaw is that it is released first by T-Mobile/Voicestream, which probably has the least amount of network coverage. That is why the announced partnership with AT&T Wireless appears to be so important, except that AT&Ts own GSM network is not nearly as built out as their older TDMA network. The rumors about an aquisition of Voicestream by AT&T Wireless may make the Microsoft/AT&T announcement moot.
Clearly a PPC Phone Edition launch on Verizon or Sprint PCS' network would pack a much bigger punch. My guess is that Microsoft knows that, but that neither Verizon and Sprint where eager to work with Microsoft. They probably rather watch to see how the Voicestream "experiment" goes before making any committments. My guess is that Verizon selling the Audiovox Thera (at the ridiculously high price of $800) is an illusion of working with Microsoft and is in no way a committment.
Obviously, all of what I am writing here is framed within the context of the United States. Outside the U.S. there is basically only one wireless voice network: GSM. Hence, the logic behind Microsoft developing PPC Phone Edition for GSM first. Therefore, perhaps the real gauge of PPC Phone Edition's success will be sales of O2's XDA. I think that has been selling for well over a month now, but so far I haven't seen or heard of any sales numbers.
posted by Frank McPherson 4:08 PM |
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Mercury News | 08/06/2002 | Sprint PCS set to put Americans on mobile Internet Sprint sure has the hype machine working.
posted by Frank McPherson 3:37 PM |
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News: Danger puts Hiptop handheld on hold The new target date for the Hiptop's release is this fall. T-mobile will be selling RIM, Pocket PC and Danger devices, but they have an ownership stake in Danger. You got to wonder which of these devices T-mobile will push the hardest.
posted by Frank McPherson 12:15 PM |
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ZDNet: Tech Update: Networking / Mobile .Net app could save millions This application runs on Pocket PCs and uses 802.11b.
posted by Frank McPherson 12:01 PM |
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I think I findly got the search page fixed so that you don't get the logon dialog and you can actually run a search here. If you try it out and it doesn't work please drop me a mail.
posted by Frank McPherson 10:38 PM |
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allNetDevices: - Waiting For 3G I guess we are waiting for Sprint to get their 3G network operational by the end of this summer. Up to four days ago I have been fairly pleased with Voicestream's GPRS service. However, it seems that ever since the big Pocket PC launch I have had sporadic success at getting a connection. And why the GPRS service has been functional, it is far fast. It makes regular dial-up seem like I'm connected via WiFI.
posted by Frank McPherson 9:42 PM |
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Products: MindManager 2002 Mobile Edition I need to check out this alternative to Pocket MindMap.
posted by Frank McPherson 1:42 PM |
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Pocket PC Thoughts :: View topic - Pocket PC phones - the media doesn't get it. If you read Pocket PC web sites, you probably already know that Voicestream's Pocket PC Phone Edition, released last week, has received negative reviews from just about every mainstream press site. Most of my counterparts within the Pocket PC community say that the mainstream media just doesn't get Pocket PC Phone Edition. It does seem as though it is very fashionable for the mainstream media to bash Microsoft at every opportunity, but I think that one has to wonder why every single journalist has had nothing good to say about the product.
I don't think there has been a single convergent device that has received rave reviews. Handspring's Treo seems to have obtained the most postive reviews, but even it has its detractors. This shouldn't come as a great surprise because everyone compares these devices with phones rather than PDAs. It is darn difficult to create a good convergent device, and I don't think anyone has done it right yet. The reason why it is so difficult is that by its nature a convergent device requires compromises. You simply are not going to get all the rich functionality of a PDA on the small 1" square screen that most mobile phones have. So one has to determine which is most important in designing a convergent device. With Phone Edition Microsoft believes the PDA functionality is most important; with Smart Phones the phone is most important. Microsoft's phone offerings has to be looked at within the context of both of these devices.
I have two personal opinions about what is going on here. The first problem that I see is in the name, Pocket PC Phone Edition. Despite Microsoft's claims about Pocket PC Phone Edition being "a Pocket PC with phone capabilities" people's expectations are set by the word "Phone" in the name. I think the hardware vendors sense this, which is why HP calls the Jornada 928 a "Wireless Digital Assistant" (WDA). I like the WDA term since it does a better job, in my opinion, of describing the device's capabilities. I am saying here that the name of the software is creating a great deal of the confusion about the device.
The second problem is that we have been hearing so much about SmartPhones (aka Stinger) from Microsoft for years, yet not a single SmartPhone has made it to market. I think that if the SmartPhone was released first, and then Pocket PC Phone Edition, then it would be easier for reviewers to "get it." They would have something physical for comparison, and it would be easier to place Pocket PC Phone Edition in the proper context.
My colleagues are right, the mainstream media does not get Pocket PC Phone Edition. Pocket PC Phone Edition is a Pocket PC first, phone second, and works best for those with high PDA requirements and minimal phone requirements. Since I am a low phone user, the device is perfect for me. However, there are reasons why the mainstream media doesn't get it, and it is not just bias and lack of intelligence. Like many times in the past, Microsoft's marketing is a huge problem. Microsoft has clearly not been able to communicate their message to the market, and unless the message gets out Phone Edition will have no more success than previous incarnations of the Pocket PC.
posted by Frank McPherson 11:13 AM |
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eBook Locator - Powered by OverDrive If you are looking for an eBook, this locator tool might be useful. You can even use it to locate the 1st Edition of my book.
posted by Frank McPherson 10:36 AM |
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infoSync : More Microsoft Reader eBooks Infosync reports that ebooks.com and Fictionwise are adding more Microsoft Reader books to their inventory. My personal favorite ebook store is Palm Digital Media (formerly known as Peanut Press).
posted by Frank McPherson 10:30 AM |
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Vanderbilt improves operating room efficiency linking wireless Compaq iPAQ Pocket PC to central server "The capabilities of the iPAQ Pocket PC bring advantages over other handheld devices in meeting the requirements of the Health Care Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), federally mandated regulations that take effect in 2003 governing the privacy of medical records and patient information."
posted by Frank McPherson 10:07 AM |
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Doctors Gadgets :: PDA, Palm, Pocket PC, Clie - advice for doctors and medical students Marlof over at Pocket PC Thoughts found this site for doctors who use handhelds.
posted by Frank McPherson 10:03 AM |
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